RachelWatch: The World Rushes to Haiti’s Aid

Today: Rachel gives updates on the relief efforts in Haiti. And Pat Robertson is a benighted jackass.

Earthquake in Haiti

Rachel once again devoted two shows to covering the disaster in Haiti, starting us off with the grim news that tens of thousands of people are believed dead and as many as a third of Haiti’s nine million residents may need aid.

Top members of the U.S. government have dropped everything to coordinate relief efforts and teams from around the world are rushing to help.

Pure Ignorance

In the middle of compassionate responses from around the world, Pat Robertson checked in to offend and embarrass Haitians, Americans, Christians, non-Christians, humans in general, and most houseplants.

Earthquake in Haiti: The Crisis

Rachel welcomed Haitian ambassador to the United States Raymond Joseph, who offered Pat Robertson a dignified rebuke and a hell of a history lesson.

Earthquake in Haiti: Help from the U.S.

Rachel took a look at the Obama administration’s shift from Bush-era international relations to a focus on international aid. Steve Clemons of The Washington Note joined Rachel to talk about a different kind of power.

Earthquake in Haiti: The Country

Rachel took some time to point out how close Haiti is to the United States – and how closely intertwined our histories are.

Earthquake in Haiti

Rachel ran a clip of Haiti’s President, Rene Preval, talking to Brian Williams of NBC News about the crisis, acknowledging his own homelessness and pointing out the hundreds of thousands who are far worse off.

Rachel then moved on to wonderfully named State Department spokesperson Gordon Duguid (pronounced “Do-good”), who talked about the daunting logistics of getting aid to a country that is horribly impoverished in the best of times.

Duguid pointed out that one can’t drop a small amount of aid into an area where there are huge shortfalls, and that communication channels have to be opened up to avoid panic and confusion.

Sophie Delaunay, the executive director of Doctors without Borders, joined Rachel in the studio to talk about the needs of the victims. In addition to the already enormous difficulties, Ms. Delaunay said that Doctors without Borders haven’t yet been able to locate all their staff in Haiti.

Earthquake in Haiti: Elite Rescue

On a more heartening note, Rachel looked at the specialized search and rescue teams that have been deployed from around the world.